Yevgeny Gavrilovich Minayev (russian: Евгений Гаврилович Минаев; 21 May 1933 – 8 December 1993) was a Russian

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lif ...

who competed for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. He won a silver medal at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

and a gold medal at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Career

Minayev started training in weightlifting while serving in the Soviet Army. At his first competition, the 1956 Soviet Championships, Minayev broke the world record in the press, but finished only fourth overall. Yet he was selected for the 1956 Olympics, as a reserve, and won a silver behind

Isaac Berger Isaac "Ike" Berger (November 16, 1936 – June 4, 2022) was an American weightlifter, who competed for the United States at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won one gold and two silver medals. He held eight world records (four official and f ...

; he lost to Berger also at the 1958 and 1961 world championships, but beat him at the 1957 and 1962 world championships and at the 1960 Olympics, in a 9-hour battle. Domestically, Minayev won seven national titles (1957–59, 1961, 1963, 1965–66). He also became European champion in 1958, 1960 and 1962, winning a silver in 1961. During his career, Minayev set 13 world records, nine in the press, one in the snatch, and three in the total.EUGENE MINAEV
chidlovski.net Minayev was known for his insubordination. He refused any coach and often missed training sessions of the national team. Consequently, he was expelled from the team in the mid-1960s despite being a national champion. He retired in 1966 and briefly worked as a weightlifting coach before returning to his native Klin, where he took temporary jobs at farms and mechanical workshops. Minayev left a car, an apartment and his family in Moscow. He spent his last years homeless on the streets of Klin, where he froze to death in December 1993.Другой берег Евгения Минаева
sovsport.ru. 31 May 2003

References

External links

* 1933 births 1993 deaths Russian male weightlifters Soviet male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters of the Soviet Union Weightlifters at the 1956 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in weightlifting Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics World Weightlifting Championships medalists {{Russia-weightlifting-bio-stub